This invention relates in general to the interior trim for automotive vehicles, and in particular to headliners for such vehicles.
Automotive vehicles usually include a headliner that lines the interior of the roof of the vehicle in the region of the driver and passenger compartment. FIG. 1 shows a generic representation of an automotive headliner 10. The headliner provides an attractive appearance as well as providing some padding and acoustic damping. Headliners are sometimes made with polyurethane foam. Polyurethane headliners today are normally made with a semi-rigid foam or are impregnated with a resin and cured out and become semi-rigid. These headliners are designed for stiffness.
An example of a previously known headliner is described in International Patent Application WO 97/109050. This application discloses the use of a foam material which is impregnated with a hardening compound in order to provide an energy absorbent headliner. A fiberglass reinforcing layer is incorporated with the foam core to provide structural strength.
This invention relates to a flexible headliner for an automotive vehicle. The headliner includes a flexible foam core layer having a nominal thickness of greater than 5 millimeters. A cover layer is bonded to a first side of the core layer. A backing layer is bonded to a second side of the core layer opposite the first side. The headliner is sized and shaped to conform to an interior roof of the vehicle. Optionally, the headliner can also include a reinforcement that allows the headliner to maintain a desired shape while supporting its own weight and additional components that are part of a modular structure.
The invention also relates to methods of forming the headliner in a mold. For example, the core layer, cover layer and backing layer can be prelaminated outside the mold and then formed inside the mold. Alternatively, the core layer, cover layer and backing layer can be inserted into the mold and then laminated and formed inside the mold. Typically, a hot mold is used for forming the headliner. However, the headliner can also be formed using a cold mold by heating at least one of the core layer, cover layer and backing layer outside the mold. For example, the core layer, cover layer and backing layer can all be heated outside the mold and then laminated and formed inside the mold. Alternatively, the core layer and backing layer can be heated outside the mold, the cover layer prepositioned inside the mold, and then the core layer, backing layer and cover layer laminated and formed inside the mold. The latent heat of the core layer causes the cover layer to bond to the core layer.
Various advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the invention, when read in light of the accompanying drawings.